Divine intervention: Preacher stops, restrains car thief

Saturday

Oct 7, 2017 at 8:15 AM

The Rev. Paul Mixon said the suspect got out of the vehicle and punched him in the left side of the face. The pastor — a former sheriff's deputy — then restrained him on the ground until law enforcement arrived.

Staff report

CRESTVIEW — While in jail, Cameron Marquise Patterson will have the opportunity to reflect on a newly learned commandment — thou shall not steal a vehicle from a preacher who’s a former sheriff’s deputy.

Officers with the Crestview Police Department on Friday morning responded to a call of a stolen vehicle at Robinson Avenue East and Ferdon Boulevard South, about a block from Central Baptist Church.

But when officers arrived, Patterson, 23, already was on the ground, being detained by the Rev. Paul Mixon, church employee Chad McCauley and other bystanders.

A few minutes earlier, McCauley told Mixon, the church's pastor, that the church’s black Honda sedan was being driven away by an unauthorized user.

Mixon, a CPD reserve officer and chaplain with the agency, followed the vehicle in his personal truck, blocked its exit from a nearby alley, then removed the keys from the vehicle and told Patterson to remain in the car.

According to a CPD report, Patterson told the pastor he had found the vehicle and was transporting it across the street. Mixon, however, had a different take on it, telling police Patterson got out of the vehicle and punched him in the left side of the face. The pastor said he then restrained Patterson on the ground until law enforcement arrived.

Patterson was arrested and transported to North Okaloosa Medical Center after complaining of a possibly dislocated shoulder. He was transported to Okaloosa County Jail after receiving treatment, and charged with vehicle theft and battery.

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